UK boy's name
Neville
Of French origin, meaning "new town" or "new settlement".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Neville is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Neville popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3688, with 5 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2022, with 9 births.
This profile covers 110 England and Wales registrations across 26 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 56% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 119 living people in the UK are called Neville. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Neville ranked #3688 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 5 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2022, when 9 boys were registered as Neville.
- • Neville ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #213 in 1976.
- • About 119 living people in the UK are estimated to have Neville as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#3688
2024
Births in 2024
5
Latest year
Peak year
2022
9 births
Estimated living
119
2026
Meaning
What does Neville mean?
The name Neville is of Norman French origin, deriving from the Old French words "neuf" meaning "new" and "ville" meaning "town." It was a locational surname initially given to someone who hailed from a new or newly established town or village. The name likely emerged in the 11th century during the Norman conquest of England when many French names and vocabulary were introduced to the region.
As a given name, Neville has been in use since at least the 12th century. One of the earliest recorded instances is Neville of Raby, a prominent English baron who lived from around 1163 to 1244. He was a powerful landowner and nobleman in northern England during the reigns of King John and Henry III.
Another noteworthy historical figure with the name Neville was Neville Cardigan (1543-1631), an English courtier and diplomat who served under Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. He was known for his role in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, which aimed to assassinate King James I and blow up the Houses of Parliament.
In the realm of literature, Neville Shute (1899-1960) was a renowned English novelist and aeronautical engineer. He wrote several popular novels, including "A Town Like Alice" and "On the Beach," which explored themes of adventure, romance, and the aftermath of nuclear war.
Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1940. He is best known for his policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany in the lead-up to World War II, which ultimately failed to prevent the conflict.
In more recent times, Neville Longbottom is a prominent character in the Harry Potter book and film series by J.K. Rowling. He is a fellow student and close friend of the protagonist, Harry Potter, and plays a crucial role in the battle against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Neville over time
The chart below shows babies named Neville registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Neville, the clearest high point is 2022. The latest England and Wales figure is 5 births in 2024, compared with 9 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neville by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Neville was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #3743 | 25 | 5 |
| 2010s | #4127 | 31 | 8 |
| 2000s | #3316 | 38 | 10 |
| 1990s | #2087 | 16 | 3 |
Geography
Where Neville is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Neville. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Neville ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #213 in 1976.
Across the UK
Neville in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#213 in 1976
2 years of NRS records, 10 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Neville
-
Neville Stamp
association football player
association football player (born 1981)
1981-
-
Neville Tuli
writer
British writer
1964-
-
Neville Wakefield
curator; art critic; cultural historian
British curator and art critic
1963-
-
Neville Southall
association football coach; association football player; autobiographer
Welsh association football manager and former player
1958-
-
Neville Staple
singer; autobiographer
British singer
1955-
-
Neville Smith
screenwriter; actor; television actor
British actor and screenwriter
1940-
-
Neville Symington
writer; psychoanalyst
British psychoanalyst
1937-2019
-
Neville Tong
sport cyclist
British cyclist (1934–2019)
1934-2019
Related
Names similar to Neville
- Noah 72,596
- Nathan 46,860
- Nicholas 15,983
- Nathaniel 12,151
- Niall 5,746
- Nicolas 3,825
- Nico 3,532
- Nate 2,029
- Nikodem 1,872
- Noel 1,865
- Ned 1,614
- Neo 1,563
FAQ
Neville: questions and answers
How popular is the name Neville in the UK right now?
In 2024, Neville was ranked #3688 for boys in England and Wales, with 5 births registered.
When was Neville most popular?
The peak year on record was 2022, with 9 babies registered as Neville in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Neville?
Of French origin, meaning "new town" or "new settlement".
How many people are called Neville in the UK?
A total of 110 babies have been registered as Neville across the 26 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 10 more in Scotland.
Where is Neville most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Neville ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #213 in 1976. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.